Friday, June 4, 2010

Death and Blogging

It is almost impossible to be a blogger in East Tennessee and not have read about the death this week of Henry Granju, the teenage son of Knoxville blogger Katie Allison Granju. Someone beat the lad with a tire iron several weeks ago, and then some of his friends gave him methadone. To say that this story has been all over the area blogosphere is an understatement. Check out a list of blog posts compiled by Katie Granju'scolleaguehere.

I do not know Katie Granju, though I've read her blog from time to time, but like everyone else I found her writing through the suffering and death of her child to be compelling. To lose one's child and to have the courage to write about it publicly on a blog as it happens is remarkable. The family has set up a scholarship fund to provide drug and alcohol treatment for the needy, and Ms. Granju's friends have set up a fund to help the family defray medical and funeral expenses.